Venezuelans and T&T Thread

[Flex]

PM blasts BBC ‘agenda’ in migrant report
T&T Guardian Reports.

Progress with US lead­ers, prob­lems with Unit­ed King­dom’s me­dia leader - the BBC.

While Trinidad and To­ba­go re­cent­ly made head­way in the US on Venezuela, Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley is most up­set with the British Broad­cast­ing Cor­po­ra­tion’s (BBC’s) re­cent doc­u­men­tary on T&T’s Venezue­lan amnesty reg­is­tra­tion ex­er­cise - and he’s writ­ing to the British Gov­ern­ment on it.

The BBC pro­gramme, ‘The Dis­placed’, which start­ed air­ing on so­cial me­dia yes­ter­day, fo­cused on Venezue­lans seek­ing bet­ter­ment here via Gov­ern­ment’s reg­is­tra­tion dri­ve over May to June. The Gov­ern­ment had stat­ed that 16,523 Venezue­lans reg­is­tered.

The BBC video aired as­pects of the reg­is­tra­tion process, in­clud­ing the an­ti-amnesty group which protest­ed out­side of the Queens’ Park Oval. Row­ley par­tic­u­lar­ly took is­sue with the as­pect claim­ing T&T had 40,000 Venezue­lans and on­ly 16,000 were al­lowed to reg­is­ter.

Row­ley said TT had 16,000 odd Venezue­lans here and they were reg­is­tered, in­clud­ing ap­prox­i­mate­ly 2,000 chil­dren.

But he added, “This didn’t pre­vent the BBC from go­ing out of their way to mis­rep­re­sent the po­si­tion on T&T. As a life­long lis­ten­er and re­specter of the BBC, the pro­gramme the BBC men­tioned on T&T isn’t wor­thy of the BBC.

“Every­one around has an agen­da and I’m not to be­lieve there are peo­ple in the BBC who al­lowed them­selves to be part of some­one’s agen­da. The BBC is too sa­cred to us in the Com­mon­wealth for that non­sense to go on,” he said.

He said that on the last day of the reg­is­tra­tion there was no­body in the line and Gov­ern­ment even con­tin­ued the process on the week­end af­ter.

“So it’s quite wrong for the BBC to put pres­sure, say­ing we have 40,000 peo­ple and reg­is­tered 16,00 and didn’t al­low the oth­er 14,000 to reg­is­ter. That’s feed­ing in­to peo­ple’s agen­da... I don’t know where they were get­ting those num­bers from,” Dr Row­ley said.

Row­ley said Gov­ern­ment made it clear if Venezue­lans didn’t want to be reg­is­tered, then they could not stay in this coun­try.

“You’re not wel­come; any­body who didn’t reg­is­ter, well, too bad for you..I don’t know there are 40,000 or even 14 Venezue­lans who want­ed to be reg­is­tered and who didn’t. So we take ob­jec­tion to that!”

“The BBC is a Gov­ern­ment agency in the UK and we’ll make a for­mal com­plaint to the British gov­ern­ment about that,” Row­ley added, say­ing he didn’t want T&T mis­rep­re­sent­ed in “this very dan­ger­ous world.”

He said he was dis­ap­point­ed the BBC was sub­scrib­ing to a view that the truth doesn’t mat­ter and the is­sue was what one can get peo­ple to be­lieve.

He said the BBC didn’t have to use the an­ti-amnesty group who protest­ed out­side the Oval and con­vey that as T&T’s po­si­tion since any­one would know the vast ma­jor­i­ty of na­tion­als were not of “that ilk and didn’t be­have like that.”

Row­ley added the BBC didn’t have to reach out to Gov­ern­ment since the reg­is­tra­tion in­for­ma­tion was pub­lic and Gov­ern­ment an­swered many Op­po­si­tion queries in Par­lia­ment.

“Our sto­ry is a very pub­lic one. I don’t know any BBC per­son had any dif­fi­cul­ty - if their mo­tive was ho­n­ourable- to speak to any gov­ern­ment mem­ber in­clud­ing my­self; I know of no such ap­proach, I’ve heard none of the min­is­ters speak about. This came like a bolt out of the night,” he said.

He said he found it in­ter­est­ing the item arose just when he was prepar­ing to at­tend the Unit­ed Na­tions (UN) soon. When News­day’s Sean Dou­glas asked if Gov­ern­ment had a com­mu­ni­ca­tion prob­lem, Row­ley snapped, “ You doh start dat! Doh start dat at all! You have no prob­lem get­ting through to Gov­ern­ment and I as prime min­is­ter stand here and an­swer every ques­tion you have! We’re not ac­cept­ing we have a com­mu­ni­ca­tion prob­lem where this is con­cerned! It’s not an ab­sence of com­mu­ni­ca­tion that caused these peo­ple to mis­rep­re­sent our cir­cum­stance.”

He said the UN had first start­ed the 40,000 fig­ure and that was wrong. He said there were peo­ple with agen­das who want­ed to in­flate num­bers to pres­sure T&T and peo­ple were de­mand­ing T&T in­sti­tute a refugee pol­i­cy, though the coun­try is fo­cus­ing on eco­nom­ic mi­grants.

The prime min­is­ter spoke about the de­vel­op­ments at a me­dia con­fer­ence yes­ter­day fol­low­ing his re­cent trip to the Unit­ed States.

He met US Con­gres­sion­al lead­ers of teams on For­eign Re­la­tions, Se­cu­ri­ty and Fi­nan­cial Ser­vices among oth­ers.

He said the bulk of the con­ver­sa­tion was on the Venezue­lan is­sue, se­cu­ri­ty co-op­er­a­tion and de­risk­ing dan­ger re­gion­al banks face from US banks’ hes­i­ta­tion to work with them. Sev­er­al re­gion­al states - in­clud­ing T&T - were be­ing black­list­ed due to Glob­al Fo­rum and oth­er Eu­ro­pean re­quire­ments.

Row­ley said US dis­cus­sions had gone as far as the pos­si­bil­i­ty of hav­ing hear­ings in the US on Venezuela and the fi­nan­cial ser­vices is­sue. Con­se­quent­ly, a US del­e­ga­tion is com­ing to T&T for a few days from Oc­to­ber 3 to dis­cuss the mat­ter sand US of­fi­cers are ea­ger to work with T&T.

He said T&T was con­grat­u­lat­ed for its han­dling of the Venezue­lan amnesty.

[Flex]

Trinidad and Tobago birth certificates being sold to Venezuelans illegally.
T&T Express Reports.

‘Illegal activity’ at Registrar General’s Dept...

Trinidad and Tobago birth certificates are being illegally sold to non-nationals.

The scam, which allegedly involves several employees attached to the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Registrar General’s Department, has been ongoing for years, with Nigerians, Venezuelans, Indians and people of other nationalities benefiting from it.

Due to the turmoil in Venezuela, there has been an increase in sales, with certificates costing from $3,500 ­upwards.

The cost for a T&T birth certificate to nationals is $25.

[Flex]

'We will take you to Venezuela'
T&T Newsday Reports.

Airline starts operating in PoS

The Venezuelan company Rutaca Airlines recognizes that 90 percent of travelers arriving in Venezuela from T&T do so through their private flights and, as such, have opened operations in Port of Spain to give the premises comfortable facilities to obtain their tickets .

The airline's director, José Gregorio Hidalgo, told Newsday that the company opened a new commercial office on Richmond Street last week. "We registered as a company in Trinidad and Tobago in November and from there we decided to open a customer service office and sell tickets to provide better service," said Hidalgo.

The Venezuelan ambassador in T&T, Carlos Pérez, was at the launch of the commercial office together with the owners of the company and other executives. Hidalgo emphasized that around 80 Trinidadians travel on each flight.

"Trinidad and Tobago has always had passengers because many local people travel to Venezuela for tourism and health, as there are many medical specialists who provide good services in Venezuela," he added.

He said that the flow of Venezuelans is maintained despite the brake set by the Trinidad and Tobago government, with the imposition of visas.

However, he acknowledged that passengers who now have a visa travel with greater peace of mind. “Before the visa, at the airport, a significant number of passengers returned due to several inconveniences (but) now, with the visa, they have a little more security, practically no traveler has returned us in recent months and this is positive " Hidalgo said that from T&T to Venezuela, many Venezuelans began applying for visas from work permits to travel to Venezuela, visit and return to T&T to continue their work.

Rutaca Airlines has been operating flights from Piarco to Porlamar in Venezuela since 2014, through several local companies offering various services, including legal representation before local authorities.

Then they incorporated the city of Barcelona, ​​in eastern Venezuela as a second destination, but due to the low influx of passengers, they decided to stop flights last year to this destination. The company opened direct trips to Caracas, which today is the second meeting point between Venezuela and T&T through Rutaca.

“The trips are Thursday and Sunday making a stop in Porlamar and continuing to Caracas,” said Hidalgo. This opened the possibility for new customers. He confirmed that ticket sales are made in Trinidad dollars.

"We are in T&T and we cover all services in local currency," said Elianny Winston, head of the Rutaca office in Port of Spain.

He gave good news for Venezuelans residing in the east of that country, since Rutaca Airlines will open direct flights from Piarco to the city of Maturín.

“The plan is for these flights to start leaving within a month. 90 percent of Venezuelans living in T&T are from eastern Venezuela (Bolívar, Anzoátegui, Delta Amacuro, Sucre and Monagas states) and Maturín is at the center of all these places, ”Winston said.

He added that Maturín flights are scheduled for Wednesdays and Saturdays. He also commented that Rutaca is offering its passengers connections to the Dominican Republic.



The owners and managers of Rutaca Airlines opened the company's new office located on Richmond Street, with the presence of the Venezuelan ambassador in T&T, Carlos Pérez. - Grevic Alvarado

[Deeks]

VIASA gone thru.

[Flex]

US sanctions force T&T and Venezuela to tear up gas agreement.
By CURTIS WILLIAMS (cnc3.co.tt).

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has announced that Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela have rescinded their agreement to jointly exploit 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Loran Manatee field and would instead develop it independently.

Rowley said the continued US sanctions on the Bolivarian Republic had made it all but impossible to jointly develop the gas and as a result, the two countries will go independently.

With this in mind, Royal Dutch Shell—who is the 100 percent operator of the Manatee block—has agreed to develop it and already has started planning its development.

Rowley noted that this should add roughly 275 to 400 million standard cubic feet of gas by 2024, and be a game changer,

The gas will be in the shallow water and should be able to come on stream in fewer than five years.

In a wide ranging address at the opening ceremony of the Energy Chamber's Annual Energy Conference, Rowley said he expected the natural gas shortages to come to an end by 2024.

He also predicted an increase in crude production to 90,000 barrels of oil per day by 2022 as BHP brings on its Ruby project.

[Flex]

Gas deals with Venezuela off.
By CURTIS WILLIAMS (Guardian).

Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley has an­nounced that T&T and Venezuela have re­scind­ed their agree­ment to joint­ly ex­ploit 10 tril­lion cu­bic feet of nat­ur­al gas in the Lo­ran Man­a­tee field and would in­stead de­vel­op it in­de­pen­dent­ly.

In a wide rang­ing ad­dress at the open­ing cer­e­mo­ny of the En­er­gy Cham­ber’s An­nu­al En­er­gy Con­fer­ence be­ing held at the Hy­att Ho­tel in Port of Spain, Dr Row­ley al­so an­nounced yes­ter­day that “it is re­gret­table that we can­not move ahead with the Drag­on Project which is on hold, at this time, due to US sanc­tions on Venezuela.”

He said this coun­try was ready “at a mo­ment’s no­tice,” to move ahead with the project “on the lift­ing of such re­stric­tions since vir­tu­al­ly all the prepara­to­ry work has been done.”

Notwith­stand­ing, this he said “we are pro­ceed­ing with the Man­a­tee ini­tia­tive which is the sin­gle most sig­nif­i­cant de­vel­op­ment in the en­er­gy sec­tor in re­cent times.”

Row­ley said the con­tin­ued US sanc­tions on the Bo­li­var­i­an Re­pub­lic had made it all but im­pos­si­ble to joint­ly de­vel­op the gas and as a re­sult the two coun­tries will go in­de­pen­dent­ly.

As a re­sult, Roy­al Dutch Shell which is the 100 per­cent op­er­a­tor of the Man­a­tee block has agreed to de­vel­op it and has al­ready start­ed plan­ning its de­vel­op­ment.

Row­ley not­ed that this should add be­tween 275 to 400 mil­lion stan­dard cu­bic feet of gas by 2024, which he said would be a game chang­er,

He ex­plained that the gas will be in the shal­low wa­ter and should be able to come on stream in few­er than five yeas.

In re­cent years there have been con­cern about de­clin­ing nat­ur­al gas and the im­pact it has had on this coun­try. But the Prime Min­is­ter sound­ed a note of op­ti­mism say­ing he ex­pect­ed by 2024 the nat­ur­al gas short­ages will come to an end. He al­so fore­cast an in­crease in crude pro­duc­tion to 90,000 bar­rels of oil per day by 2022 as BHP brings on its Ru­by project.

PM Row­ley told the con­fer­ence that gas pro­duc­tion is pro­ject­ed to come on stream from Man­a­tee field, which forms a part of the Lo­ran- Man­a­tee cross-bor­der field and is lo­cat­ed in the ma­rine area of T&T.

The Lo­ran-Man­a­tee is a shal­low-wa­ter field that strad­dles the mar­itime bound­ary be­tween Trinidad and To­ba­go and Venezuela.

Row­ley said ex­plo­ration ac­tiv­i­ty, ini­tial­ly by state owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and lat­er by US Cor­po­ra­tion Chevron, which holds a 60 per cent in­ter­est, en­coun­tered a sub­stan­tial amount of gas in the Lo­ran field. In 2005 Chevron/BG, which held a joint in­ter­est of 50 per cent each in the Block 6 com­pris­ing Sub-Block 6b and Sub-Block 6d, dis­cov­ered the Man­a­tee field in Block 6d. Chevron sub­se­quent­ly sold its in­ter­est in Block 6 to Shell which now has 100 per cent in­ter­est in the block, the PM added.

“Shell has sanc­tioned this de­vel­op­ment and is cur­rent­ly gear­ing up to build the in­fra­struc­ture to pro­duce from this cross-bor­der field in keep­ing with the sched­ule as just men­tioned,” Row­ley not­ed.

In 2007, T&T and Venezuela ex­e­cut­ed a Frame­work Treaty re­lat­ing to the uni­ti­za­tion of hy­dro­car­bon reser­voirs that ex­tend across the de­lim­i­ta­tion line be­tween the coun­tries.

The Treaty es­tab­lished the gen­er­al frame­work un­der which any cross-bor­der reser­voir would be ex­ploit­ed.

Row­ley al­so not­ed that de­spite the strides made by the Caribbean, in its pen­e­tra­tion of sus­tain­able en­er­gy sources, re­new­able en­er­gy sys­tems ac­count for a small frac­tion of the re­gion’s un­tapped po­ten­tial.

“It is es­ti­mat­ed that the Caribbean holds 2,525 MW of po­ten­tial so­lar en­er­gy, 800 MW of po­ten­tial wind en­er­gy, and 3,770 MW of po­ten­tial ge­ot­her­mal en­er­gy. “

“These re­sources, if har­nessed, would dis­place ap­prox­i­mate­ly 2.7 mil­lion bar­rels of oil per year and save Caribbean coun­tries US$5.0 bil­lion in fu­el im­ports per an­num,” Row­ley added.

He said giv­en the po­ten­tial sav­ings Caribbean coun­tries have es­tab­lished am­bi­tious tar­gets in the im­ple­men­ta­tion of re­new­able en­er­gy sys­tems.

In ad­di­tion the PM not­ed that fi­nan­cial aid from donor coun­tries and in­sti­tu­tions, the falling costs of re­new­able en­er­gy tech­nol­o­gy and im­prove­ment in the ef­fi­cien­cy have made these tar­gets some­what achiev­able.

Row­ley said this coun­try, tem­porar­i­ly in­su­lat­ed from high en­er­gy costs by virtue of its hy­dro­car­bon re­sources, has been mea­sured in its ap­proach to re­new­able en­er­gy.

“This in part is to en­sure that cit­i­zens of Trinidad and To­ba­go are not bur­dened by the trans­for­ma­tion costs on the con­ver­sion to re­new­able en­er­gy sys­tems.”

“ Hav­ing can­celled our at­tempts at eco­nom­ic di­ver­si­fi­ca­tion in the form of man­u­fac­tur­ing of alu­mini­um prod­ucts, we are left, at this time, with sub­stan­tial quan­ti­ty of sur­plus in­stalled pow­er which has to be paid for but for which there is no im­me­di­ate mar­ket,” Row­ley said.

This con­di­tion, he added, makes in­vest­ment in re­new­ables a lit­tle tricky how­ev­er, he said T&T has not giv­en up on the need to join in with this fu­ture prospect.

Row­ley added that Trinidad and To­ba­go is al­so poised to par­tic­i­pate in the ex­ploita­tion of hy­dro­car­bon in the ma­rine ar­eas off the Guyanas.

“Our claim to the Unit­ed Na­tions Com­mis­sion on the Lim­its of the Con­ti­nen­tal Shelf is ex­pect­ed to be pre­sent­ed this year and if suc­cess­ful would ex­tend our mar­itime ju­ris­dic­tion sea­wards to ar­eas in close prox­im­i­ty to the Guyana-Suri­name Basin,” Row­ley added.

[Flex]

'He was in wrong place, at wrong time'
By GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).

"My brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

So said Adriana Viaje, sister of murdered Venezuelan Edgar Yamil Viaje Mohammed, 22, who was one of two men shot dead last week Thursday in Diego Martin.

In an interview on Monday, Viaje said her brother stopped at the La Puerta recreation ground on Farfan Street, at 4 pm, to lime and send WhatsApp messages to his relatives in Venezuela. Mohammed and Corey "Crime" Nickles, 39, were shot and killed.

"My brother arrived from work and, as he did every day, he stopped at La Puerta for a few minutes and that was when he was killed,” said Viaje. "He sent a message to my dad Edgar Viaje who is in Venezuela, greeted him normally. But when he did not reply to my father's message he (the father) felt that something was wrong.

A friend of the Viaje family, who witnessed the incident, later related that two men who were walking by pulled out guns and started shooting.

"They involved my brother in a story that wasn't true. My brother was killed simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was not the target," added Viaje. An autopsy showed Mohammed was shot four times. Police found 17 spent shells at the scene

The family friend who saw what happened was buying water nearby when he heard the gunshots. Mohammed's mother Jameela got the news at the family's apartment near where the shooting took place. She rushed to the scene.

Viaje said the family is waiting for her father to arrive from Venezuela before they hold Mohammed's funeral.

"We are demanding justice. We went to the police and they have not given us my brother's belongings, nor have they told us if they have any detainees for the murder."

Funeral expenses are being covered by the family and Mohammed's friends and co-workers. Viaje said her brother used to travel back and forth from Trinidad and Venezuela visiting relatives, but decided to stay in Trinidad long term after getting a work permit from the government.

Mohammed had two sisters.


The relatives of the young Venezuelan Edgar Yamil Viaje Mohammed (22), killed last thursday in Diego Martin: Mossaed Mohammed (left / cousin), Adriana Viaje (center / sister), Gilbert Dimas (center / brother-in-law) and Matías Scholtz (right / friend) - Sureash Cholai

[Flex]

38 Venezuelan nationals held in Woodbrook exercise
T&T Guardian Reports.

Thir­ty-eight Venezue­lan na­tion­als were ar­rest­ed by of­fi­cers of the Port of Spain Di­vi­sion dur­ing an an­ti-crime ex­er­cise con­duct­ed in the Wood­brook Dis­trict ear­ly this morn­ing.

The ex­er­cise was con­duct­ed be­tween 3:30am and 6:00am, on Tues­day 11 Feb­ru­ary 2020, at a night­club at the cor­ner Ari­api­ta Av­enue and Car­los Streets, Wood­brook.

A search of the es­tab­lish­ment re­sult­ed in 29 fe­male and nine male Venezue­lan na­tion­als be­ing ar­rest­ed. Among the fe­males, five were be­tween the ages of 15 and 17.

They were hand­ed over to the Im­mi­gra­tion Di­vi­sion to ver­i­fy their im­mi­gra­tion sta­tus.

A small quan­ti­ty of nar­cotics was al­so seized dur­ing the ex­er­cise.

In­ves­ti­ga­tions are on­go­ing.

The ex­er­cise was su­per­vised by ASP (Ag.) Sook­er, In­sp. (Ag.) Roberts and Sgts. Toolaram and Bharath, and in­clud­ed Im­mi­gra­tion Di­vi­sion of­fi­cials.

[Flex]

No help for V'zuelan couple hit by tree
BY GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).

The two young Venezuelans who were injured when a tree branch fell on them in Woodford Square on January 27, have not received help from the government or the PoS Corporation.

But Yuliannys Pérez, 19, and Jairo Fontt, 22, said they would not take legal action because they have no money to pay a lawyer.

“We have no money to eat or to pay the rent for the apartment, much less to pay a lawyer. Everything is in the hands of God,” Pérez said.

She has been unemployed since the beginning of January. Fontt, despite the accident, has got a temporary job.

Perez said, "We are still injured. My boyfriend is working in pain, but we need the money to buy our food."

Both have government work permits.

"The local authorities have a responsibility to help us because of the injuries we have suffered, it has been difficult for us to get a job," said Perez.

The couple weer sitting on a bench in the square when the branch fell on them, pinning them to the ground. Passersby immediately helped them and called the police and fire services.They were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital of where they were treated and discharged on Tuesday.

"We were walking around the city looking for work and decided to sit in Woodford Square in front of the Red House to rest," Perez said shortly after the accident. They were praying to find a job.

“The tree made a strange sound and fell on us. We didn't have time to get out of the way. There was no wind, ”Pérez said.

The two come from Guiria in the Venezuelan state of Sucre. Fontt has been in T&T since last February and Pérez arrived in April. They live in St James.

After the incident, city corporation workers began assessing the other trees in Woodford Square and to cut down those considered dangerous.



Jairo Fontt, left, and Yuliannys Pérez. - AYANNA KINSALE

[asylumseeker]

They shouldn't have to pay an attorney.

[Sam]

They shouldn't have to pay an attorney.

Desperate people will do anything for money, this eh bong to be true either, a tree fall on you and you have a neck brace?

This eh whiplash, no scratches, bruse, nothing? and she man look healthy to me.

In these modern times, they coulda take some photos.

But if they telling de truth, then yes, de government should help them out.

[Flex]

V'zuelan shot dead after stealing car
BY SHANE SUPERVILLE (NEWSDAY).

A Venezuelan man is dead after he pointed a gun at police early on Friday morning.

Police said Josue Perdomo robbed a man of his Nissan Tiida car on Richmond Street, Port of Spain, at around 3.20 am.

Perdomo drove off with the car but the owner called the police who saw it and chased it along the Priority Bus Route.

The car ran off the road at the corner of Sixth Avenue, Barataria.

Police called on the driver to come out but instead he pointed a gun at the officers and fired.

Police shot at Perdomo wounding him.

Police took Perdomo to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he died receiving emergency surgery.

Police found a bag in the car containing a gun and a wig.

Perdomo was wanted by police in relation to a stabbing incident in the Western Division.

[Flex]

Video - How Venezuelans Penetrate Trinidad's borders

[Flex]

14 Venezuelan teens among 37 arrested in Cedros
RIA CHAITRAM (NEWSDAY).

Fourteen Venezuelan minors were among 37 people held by police on Tuesday night in Cedros.

A police press release said the teens – 11 boys and 12 girls – who entered the country illegallywere held around 9.30 pm.

Police said five vehicles suspected transporting the Venezuelans were stopped and searched. Eight people from the South and Central Divisions were also arrested in connection with the incident.

The anti-crime exercise was carried out by the South Western Division Task Force (SWDTF), Emergency Response Patrol and Cedros Police Station.

Investigations are ongoing.

[Flex]

Venezuela grateful for T&T's stand on US warships
GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).

Venezuelan chancellor Jorge Arreaza has expressed the country’s gratitude for T&T’s position on US naval manoeuvres in the region.

The US is deploying warships in the Caribbean, saying it has intelligence reports of an increase in the illegal drug trade in the region.

The US government also recently imposed sanction on Venezuela and accused President Nicolas Maduro of narcoterrorism.

On Wednesday evening, Arreaza tweeted, “We appreciate that the government of T&T, in the voice of the PM, is calling for respect and compliance with international principles and regulations protected by the UN, with respect to threats of intervention and use of force in Venezuela.”

Dr Rowley was asked about the US moves at a media briefing on Monday.

He said, “Our position remains the same. T&T remains part of Caricom and we resolutely defend that position, saying that we see the Caribbean as a zone of peace. That has not changed, and we do not expect it to change.”

[Sando prince]

32 Venezuelans Rescued By T&T Coast Guard To Be Repatriated

https://socamusictv.blogspot.com/2020/05/32-venezuelans-rescued-by-t-coast-guard.html

[Flex]

Venezuelan held by Customs officers with gun, ammo
JENSEN LA VENDE (NEWSDAY).

MEMBERS of the Customs and Excise Marine Interdiction Unit arrested a 23-year-old Venezuelan with a gun and ammunition on Wednesday.

Reports said the officers were on mobile patrol near Old Granville Road, Cedros, around 5 pm when they saw the man hiding in a bushy area near the beach.

The officers came ashore and held the Venezuelan with a shotgun, two shotgun cartridges and six round of 9mm ammunition. He was held and will be handed over to police to be officially charged, after securing a translator.

[Flex]

Venezuelan woman faked death to survive attack, cop held
By Stacy Moore (Newsday).

An 18-year-old Venezuelan empanada vendor endured hours of torture, being stabbed, beaten, and raped by a group of men who left her in the bushes off the M2 Ring Road in La Romaine, but only after she pretended to be dead.

After an intensive search by police to find the teen’s attackers, a day later, police arrested one of their own colleagues in connection with the crime.

Investigators believe the policeman arrested owns the car the teen was abducted in.

The policeman ,who is also on suspension, was held near the Mucurapo Foreshore with another man believed to have been involved in the attack.

Senior police told Newsday it was a miracle the victim was found alive, given the extent and location of her injuries.

The young woman, who was stabbed several times in the neck, fingers and hands, was on her way to San Fernando to sell empanadas when she was abducted and attacked.

Bleeding from her wounds, the teen crawled out of the bushes along a dirt track until she made it to the road, where she collapsed, gasping for breath.

Police said a passing driver saw her and took her to the San Fernando General Hospital  where she had emergency surgery.

A police report said the young woman’s father had put her in a "PH" car near their Fyzabad home on Tuesday to be taken to San Fernando along with a container of empanadas.

Reports said as the car approached La Romaine, one of the two male passengers covered her face and tied her up. The driver then went to an isolated area off the road and she was assaulted and thrown out of the car.

She was also robbed of an undisclosed sum of money.

The teen is still in a serious condition under police guard at the San Fernando General Hospital.

The incident has generated an outcry on social media as users commended the police for their quick response and others describing the attack as demonic.

“This is so shameful,” one user said.

“We Trinidadians should feel ashamed. Nobody, especially outsiders, supposed to be treated in such a horrible manner.”

[Flex]

Womantra: Venezuelan women under attack in T&T
BY STACY MOORE (NEWSDAY).

THE NGO Womantra says Venezuelan women are under attack in this country.

Womantra said statistics from a recent joint select committee hearing showed there were 484 complaints of sexual assault by immigrants over a six-year period. For these assaults, no one was arrested.

The group is now questioning why the Police Commissioner has not spoken on the issue.

“Where is Gary Griffith? Why hasn’t he come out and addressed the public in light of these ghastly crimes against the Venezuelan community living in T&T? We continue to demand that the police be held accountable for their silence in times of great significance.”

Members said they cannot remain silent when Venezuelan women are being sexually assaulted, kidnapped, and exploited.

In a media release, Womantra said it was standing in solidarity with all the victims, as there now needs to be a shift in consciousness among the local population that not only acknowledges the crimes as a legitimate threat to T&T's national security but must also demand justice for these women and their families.

“From misogynistic discourse encoded in soca music to physical acts of violence and the exploit of their labour due to immigrants' status, we recognise and grimace at the ways these women suffer.” the release said.

“In June a Venezuelan woman was kidnapped at a fake job interview and taken to a location where she was sexually assaulted. In May, another woman was at home with her partner when they were robbed and she was sexually assaulted.”

The most recent attack occurred last Tuesday against an 18-year-old Venezuelan woman. The teen got into a "PH" taxi from Fyzabad to be taken to San Fernando where she was abducted and sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten. She is now at the San Fernando General Hospital.

A policeman was detained in connection with this crime and is expected to be charged.

[Flex]

Police find 2 Venezuelan quarantine escapees
ELIZABETH GONZALES (NEWSDAY).

Two of the three Venezuelan teenagers who escaped from the quarantine facility at Canada Hall, UWI, St Augustine campus have been found. They were found in Santa Cruz last Friday, ACP Wendell Williams told Newsday on Wednesday. The girls, aged 14, 15 and 17, did not show up for breakfast and could not be found on August 25. A nurse reported them missing to St Joseph police.

There has also been an increased police presence at the quarantine facility since the escape, Newsday was told. Police said the search was “based on information; it’s like a needle in a haystack,” and several areas have already been searched and more will be searched during this week for the third girl who escaped.

They reminded the public that anyone sheltering her could be charged with aiding and abetting. The girls breached the quarantine order, but when asked if they would be charged, Williams said no, “because of their circumstance.”

Asked to clarify the circumstances, he preferred not to go into details as to why they will not be charged or where they are being held now. He said they had completed their state quarantine and would not have to return to the facility they escaped from.

Investigations are ongoing.

[Flex]

No influx of Venezuelan crabs in Trinidad
LAUREL V WILLIAMS (NEWSDAY).

The economic crises in Venezuela, coupled with the pandemic, seem to have decreased the illegal importation of crabs for sale in T&T.

As of Wednesday, chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation Dinesh Sankersingh said the corporation had no reports about the neighbouring country's crabs being sold on the local market.

Sankersingh told Newsday in a telephone interview that the corporation is more concerned about the growing Venezuelan migrant population. He said, considering the pandemic, the incoming illegal migrants are not screened or tested on arrival.

"We have not heard about any crabs coming in at this time. What we are concerned about is the porous borders. The issue is the number of people entering illegally and the threat and fear of the virus coming in."

Cedros, which falls under the corporation, is one the closest communities to Venezuela.

Contacted for comment, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat said: "Illegal activities between T&T and Venezuela are going on for a long time. It is something that I have spoken about a lot and, in particular, the illegal trade in wildlife."

He said he was unable to pinpoint a specific case.

"But, we deal with reports and support law enforcement on a daily basis. The security of the border and the enforcement of the law is handled by the Ministry of National Security."

Crab season is generally year-round, and many people catch crab as a form of recreation.

Vendor Narie Mahase, who lives in Cunupia, explained that the best time to catch crabs in TT is in July to September, "about three days after the full moons." Like the chairman, he said he has not heard about any influx of the Venezuelan crabs.

But, unconfirmed reports of the illegal trade "in the south side" suggest a few on the market, he said.

"People have to be in this business for many years to know the difference. It is hard to tell them apart. The tastes are different too. Crabs in Venezuela are bigger," Mahase said.

"The local crabs are sweeter. People from many of the other Caribbean islands do not eat crabs, so those countries have a larger population of these animals."

Mahase previously sold crabs at the Tunapuna market for more than ten years and has been selling at the Caroni bridge at the Southern Main Road for the same period.

At the Caroni bird sanctuary, he said, about 95 per cent of the area is prohibited from catching crabs. People are allowed to catch crabs in the remaining five per cent area, but they must get a pass to enter the prohibited area to get to and from the designated crab-catching area.

He complained that he and others have had problems getting the passes which is renewed for six months.

"They do not like to renew it for us. I do not know why. Once, I did not get it renewed in over two years. This is challenging for us. It is easier to pass through the sanctuary than to take a longer route by sea to get to the mangroves.

"Throughout the year, I have workers who catch crabs. We also catch them in Waterloo, Carli Bay, Mayaro, Woodland."

He said the blue crabs, hairy crabs (found in the mangroves), and sea crabs are T&T's main species.

Mahase said, "Blue crabs are the most expensive. It sells for five for $100. Hairy crabs cost about $50 for five. People are buying crabs."

Another crab catcher / vendor who asked to remain anonymous had the same views.

"All or crabs are legal and safe to eat."

In July 2018, Rambharat had warned the public to desist from buying fresh crabs from Venezuela. The warning came in the wake an advisory from the US Food and Drug Agency that the seafood may be contaminated with "vibrio parahaemolyticus – a bacterium in the same family as those that cause cholera."

The advisory had warned that people infected with vibrio parahaemolyticus experience diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, and stomach pain. Diarrhoea tends to be watery and occasionally bloody.



Crabs for sale along the Southern Main Road, Caroni. - Lincoln Holder

[Flex]

Venezuelan baby abducted
GREVIC ALVARADO (NEWSDAY).

An unidentified woman abducted a nine-month-old baby girl from her mother in Chaguanas on Tuesday.

The mother, Valentina Hernández said a "thin woman" had taken her daughter Sofia Rivas at about 7.30 am.

"The woman – she looks Indian to me – she came to the place where we are renting. She greeted me and after we spoke for a little while, the woman – she was very friendly and she told me she wanted to take my baby to buy a juice for her in the supermarket that is downstairs from the apartment where we live," said a shaken Hernández.

CCTV cameras at the supermarket later recorded the woman walking the aisles with baby Sofia in her arms before leaving with the child in a grey Nissan car with the licence plates PCU 642, which was parked nearby and driven by a man.

Realising that the woman had left with her child, Hernandez reported the abduction to the Chaguanas police. The desperate mother is begging anyone who has seen her baby or knows of her whereabouts to call the nearest police station.

Up to the time this article was published, baby Sofia remained unaccounted for.


Nine-month-old Sofia Rivas was found by police in Curepe -

[Flex]

Cops rescue baby Sofia in Curepe
By Rhondor Dowlat-Rostant (Guardian).

Police officers from the Central Division and Anti-Kidnapping Squad have rescued baby Sofia Rivas in Curepe.

According to police reports, after receiving intelligence, officers went to an apartment at Mc Inroy Street in Curepe just after 11 pm, where they recovered the nine-month-old baby girl, who had been abducted from her mother Valentina Hernandez earlier on Tuesday.

Baby Sofia was still in the hands of the woman who had reportedly abducted her earlier.

Baby Sofia was said to be in good health but was taken to the nearby Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex for a medical check before being taken to her mother.

The woman was arrested and is now assisting officers with their investigations.

Earlier in the day, officers had been searching for an East Indian woman and the driver of a silver-grey station wagon, whom they said could have assisted in the alleged abduction of the child.

Sofia’s mother, Valentina Hernandez, who is a Venezuelan national, had her worst nightmare on Tuesday, when her baby was taken from her by a woman who approached her under the pretense that she was “taking her (Sofia) for a walk to the supermarket to purchase a juice for her.”

However, while the woman did go to the supermarket, which is on the same property as the apartment complex in which Hernandez lives, she soon got into the vehicle with the baby and was never seen again.

The distraught mother told police that at about 7.30 am, she was at the apartment complex at Pokhor Road, Longdenville, Chagauanas, when she was approached by the woman, whom she knew as a tenant from the said building.

Police said after conversing with the mother, the woman asked her if she could carry the baby with her for a walk to the nearby 6to9 Convenience Store and Ice Cream shop, which is located in an annex of the three-storey apartment building.

However, Hernandez said she found it strange when the woman did not return with her child and she got worried. After three hours there was still no sign of her child and the woman made her way to the Longdenville Police Post where she reported her baby missing.

Police officers who responded went to the supermarket where they recovered CCTV footage which showed the baby in the woman’s arms as she walked through the various aisles of the establishment. The footage also showed the woman leaving with the baby girl and entering a Nissan AD station wagon, licensed PCU 6452, which was parked a few meters away from the supermarket. The driver, a man, then drove off with the woman and child. It is believed the man works “PH” along the Longdenville to Chaguanas route.

The officers later spoke to several tenants from the apartment complex as part of their investigation.

Speaking with the Guardian Media yesterday evening, a male relative of Hernandez said the family came from Venezuela seeking a “better life” and now their future plans had been ruined with Sofia’s abduction. He, however, said they strongly believe they will get back baby Sofia.

“This is very bad. You can’t trust nobody but we will get back the baby. We are very sad,” the male relative, who did not want to be named, said.

A worker in the convenience store, who was on duty when the woman entered with the child, said he did not find anything strange and was shocked to hear from the mother that the baby had been abducted.

“Apparently, the woman was staying at an apartment with someone for a week or just a few days. We didn’t really know her but she didn’t act strange. She did not even purchase anything. She just left after walking around a bit,” the worker, who also did not want to be named, said.

Asked if the vehicle the woman entered was known in the area, the worker replied, “No, we don’t know.”

The owner of the store and apartment building was on the compound during Guardian’s Media’s visit but refused to comment about the situation.

Police sources said preliminary investigations have revealed that the woman who took the child lives in the same apartment complex as Hernandez.

“From what we are being told, it’s that the mother knew the woman as they are from the same building and she was accustomed to talking to her (the mother) in the past few days. The mother said she didn’t expect the woman to take her baby but we have several leads and we are hopeful to find the woman and the baby safe and sound,” the police source said.

A resident from the area, who wished not to disclose his name, said he was in shock to hear what took place.

“I saw the police there as I was leaving home to go to work and I really saw it all over Facebook and I realised that it happened right here. It now click to me but it always have people in that yard so this is real shocking and sad.”

Anyone with information on the woman and baby’s whereabouts is asked to call the police at 999, 555, 800-TIPS, 482-GARY or the Chaguanas Police Station at 665-5271.

[Flex]

Three charged with baby's kidnapping
T&T Guardian Reports.

One woman and two men have been charged with the kidnapping of nine-month-old Sophia Rivas which occurred on September 15, 2020.

Anjali De Gannes, 19, of Longdenville Old Road, Chaguanas, Judah Taitt, 58 and Jdan Taitt, 24, both of McInroy Street, Curepe, were jointly charged Monday with kidnapping for ransom based on advice received from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard SC.

JDan Taitt was also charged with negotiating a ransom.

Two other suspects were released following investigations.

On the morning of the incident, a report was received from the child’s mother, a Venezuelan national, that while at her home on Longdenville Old Road, Longdenville, Chaguanas, the child was taken by a woman without her permission.

Sometime later, she received a telephone call from the suspect demanding $20,000 in cash for the safe release of her daughter.

Later that day around 10:50 pm, acting on intelligence, officers proceeded to McInroy Street, Curepe, where they found and safely rescued the baby.

The exercise was spearheaded by Ag Snr Supt Curtis Simon and included officers of the Central Division Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Operations Unit, Chaguanas CID, Couva CID, Central Division Gang Unit, the Central Division Task Force, the Longdenville Police Post, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the Special Members of the public are asked to like and follow the TTPS via our Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest news and information on matters of interest to the general public. Investigations Unit, the Cybercrime Unit, and the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service.


Judah Taitt, keft, and Anjali De Gannes.

[Flex]

Young: No truth US deported Venezuelans through T&T
By Gail Alexander (Guardian).

National Security Minister Stuart Young has dismissed claims by US Senator Robert Menendez that the US conducted “stealth” deportations of Venezuelans back to their homeland through T&T over January to March.

“As far as I’m aware there is no truth to the allegations that the US deported Venezuelans through T&T,” Young said yesterday when contacted.

International media reported last Friday on statements by Democrats Representative Menendez, member of the US Senate Foreign Relations team.

Menendez called T&T’s name when he sought details on the “stealth deportations.”

This was in a letter written to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and the Department of Homeland Security.

Menendez’s letter stated: “New documents provided to my office confirm that US deportations to Venezuela continued via third countries at least until March 2020, while the Trump administration has offered little assurance that it will not continue to forcibly return Venezuelans to a regime the United Nations recently stated has committed crimes against humanity.”

Menendez accused the Trump administration of “surreptitiously deporting Venezuelans through third countries,” though US law prohibits forced repatriation of refugees to places where their lives or their freedom could be threatened.

Menendez said the State Department “in recent weeks” had confirmed to his office in writing that the deportations occurred via T&T between January and March 2020. It wasn’t clear how many indirect deportations occurred. Menendez said the deportations appeared to violate a 2019 US travel ban prohibiting air travel to Venezuela.

Menendez asked for more information on countries which served as third country transit points.

He also sought details of US consultations on Venezuelan deportations with each government facilitating their transfer “including Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and any other countries involved.”

He noted Elliot Abrams (State department representative for Venezuela and Iran) said in March there wasn’t a complete freeze on deportations of Venezuelans but the number was “extremely low—data showed over 100 were deported up to February. In August Abrams said deportations weren’t being done as it was unsafe to deport Venezuelans home.

However, Young said of Menendez’s claim, “It’s a strange proposition. We never agreed to any such operations. I’ve confirmed with Immigration that we have no knowledge of any such incident.

“The T&T Government knows of no such instance and certainly didn’t agree to any such exercises,” he added

Asked about Menendez’s claim that the State Department had confirmed deportations occurred via T&T earlier this year, Young maintained the deportations didn’t happen:

“It would have to have the Government’s approval and it did not. Neither Immigration nor me are aware of any such incident,” Young stressed.

Foreign Affairs wasn’t aware of the situation. Previous Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses—in office earlier this year—didn’t answer calls. Nor did the US Embassy Public Affairs spokesperson.

Menendez’s claims arose when the aspect of Venezuelans in the US is among immigration issues is featuring in the current US Presidential election campaign.

Democrats contender Joe Biden has promised to grant Venezuelan migrants temporary protected status.

[Flex]

Minutes before court hearing: Children packed on pirogues, deported
By Anna Ramdass (T&T Express).

Mere minutes before an emergency court hearing today at 12.30 p.m. some 16 Venezuelan children were forced to board two pirogues to take them back to Venezuela.

Attorney Nafessa Mohammed said it is an inhumane act to place these children in an uncovered pirogue and speedily shuttle them back to Venezuela in full knowledge that an application had been made to the court on their behalf.

She said this is an abuse of power, authority and total disrespect for the court process.

On Saturday Mohammed appealed to the authorities to not deport 16 Venezuelan children including a four month old baby on a boat from Cedros.

She made an emergency habeus corpus application to the court today to stop the deportation.

The matter is to be heard today at 12.30 p.m.

Despite this, orders were given to bring in the pirogues and the children were taken from the Cedros police station to the treacherous seas and rainy weather.

Mohammed said there is need for an investigation on who gave the orders for the children to be shipped back to Venezuela mere minutes before the court matter.

The 16 children came to Trinidad a week ago and were held by police in Chatham.

They were taking to the Erin police station where they have been for the past week.

Yesterday, they were transported to the Cedros police station where arrangements are being made to put them on a boat and send them back to Venezuela.

Mohammed said these children have relatives in Trinidad who are registered and have Trinidad and Tobago registration cards.

She said they were all tested for Covid-19 at the police station and the results were negative.

She pleaded for authorities to have a heart as these children have already endured the trauma of surviving a treacherous sea journey to Trinidad and then detained at a police station for days.

Mohammed's plea fell on deaf ears as the children are currently on the pirogues.

[Flex]

They're back! Venezuelans deported on Sunday return to T&T
T&T Guardian Reports.

After three days on the rough seas, 16 Venezuelan children, the youngest a four-month-old baby and the eldest child 14 years, along with 11 adults, mostly women, returned to the shores of Trinidad.

Hungry and trembling from the cold, they arrived shortly before 1 pm in two pirogues at the Los Iros beach in Erin. 

They were deported on Sunday, after being detained at a police station for five days, just hours before the start of court proceedings regarding their status.  Justice Avason Quilans-Williams subsequently ordered the state to return the migrants to the country.  

Daniel, a Venezuelan national who is legally registered in Trinidad and who came to greet his cousins, said they had engine problems out at sea and never arrived in Venezuela.  He told Guardian Media he was happy that they were back here.

Fyzabad resident Torrence Farrier was at the beach when he saw the boats coming in.

“We just notice that this boat was coming in with these people and what really hurt me is the fact that there is a three-month-old child on the boat, and they had to pick up that child to bring that child here,” he told Guardian Media.

Torrence Farrier said he felt sad about how the migrants were treated by the local authorities.

“They were cold and hungry… It hurt me. That’s why I say ‘Mom, what it have to eat?’ and I take the food and give them.”  He gave them a meal of chicken, rice, and peas.

The migrants were taken away in a police bus.


The Venezuelan refugees had spent days on the water, before being brought back to Trinidad, after their deportation on Sunday 22 November 2020, before their court case could be heard.

[Flex]

PM on Venezuelan migrants again: They’re here for good
DARREN BAHAW (NEWSDAY).

The temporary registration of 16, 523 Venezuelan nationals, which allowed them to work and live in Trinidad and Tobago legally, will invariably result in their permanent relocation, according to the Prime Minister.

In his second statement, in just over two and a half hours, Dr Rowley lashed out at critics, including Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, who described his initial statement condemning the Organisation of American States and the US administration as being too angry and condemnatory.

He described Moonilal as an "opportunistic carbuncle" in his latest missive.

Rowley said, "If we appear to be a "soft-touch flexible-border neighbour," this country would be overrun by tens of thousands of illegal migrants in a "jiffy."

Pointing directly at Moonilal, the PM said: "The fact is that as you and others decry and bemoan our own circumstances here our life and living opportunities are still very attractive to many Venezuelans and others."

He accused the UN Human Rights Committee of exploiting the migrant crisis "to inflate and sustain their own operational budgets" as he dismissed their estimates of 60,000 Venezuelans living in T&T.

The Prime Minister said those who have benefited from the registration process do not have the right to "import all their families and trafficked customers into T&T," since all Venezuelans seeking to enter the country must obtain a visa. That requirement went into effect at the close of the registration process last June.

"Clearly it will not be acceptable for them to remain as people at the margins of our society, eking out a living with children not able to be properly schooled or even being born here as new citizens of T&T," Rowley said, offering a glimpse of how Cabinet will handle the expiration of their work permits on December 31.

He said the "wholesale deportation of forced repatriation" was not a feasible option.

"It is against this background that protection of all persons within our borders need to have their present and future circumstances protected by our suite of laws enacted specifically for this purpose," he said.

[Flex]

Deportations stopped too late for 18 of 19 Venezuelans
JADA LOUTOO (T&T NEWSDAY).

EIGHTEEN of the 19 Venezuelans whose deportations were stopped by a High Court judge on Saturday were sent back to their homeland the same day.

Newsday understands that the 18 were among a total of 180 who were sent back on Saturday on two Coast Guard vessels which two trips which left at 9.44 am and 10.40 am. One man was transferred to prison where he has to serve one month simple imprisonment for illegally entering T&T.

Newsday also understands that by the time Coast Guard officials received the order of Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams on Saturday, none of the Venezuelans were in T&T’s territorial waters after having already been handed over to Venezuela’s Guardia Nacional.

The matters, which were filed by attorneys Criston J Williams, Kerrina Samdeo and Jerome Riley, were expected to come up for hearing at 7.30 pm on Monday night before Quinlan-Williams who ordered the State to account for the Venezuelans who were all previously detained at the State’s quarantine facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas.

Since they are no longer in T&T, and since the State has responded to the court’s directive to say where they are, the substantive issues raised in the judicial review applications filed by the attorneys were transferred to Justice Devindra Rampersad on Monday. The State has asked for an adjournment to Tuesday and the request was granted. It has also said the judge’s orders stopping the deportation of the 19 were served after they had already left T&T’s jurisdiction.

Also on Monday, attorneys for the 26 Venezuelans who returned to Trinidad last week Tuesday, after they were “escorted” out of T&T’s territorial waters two Sundays ago, filed individual applications which have been docketed to a series of judges. Hearing for one set of applications is expected to come up on Tuesday before Justice Frank Seepersad, while some have gone to Justice Carol Gobin and Justice Joan Charles.

Charles has been assigned the cases of three children – ages 11 years, 17 months and four months – who were unaccompanied on the pirogue. Those applications were heard at 8.30 pm on Monday.

Also Monday, the attorneys reappeared virtually before Justice Quinlan-Williams for two sets of Venezuelan families who were part of the group of 26. They are represented by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen, Nafeesa Mohammed, Dayadai Harripaul and Umesh Maharaj and were asking for access to their attorneys as well as for their families to bring supplies and toys while they serve their 14 day quarantine at the heliport facility.

The 26 Venezuelans were removed from the Erin police station and taken to the heliport last week.

At the hearing on Monday, Quinlan-Williams allowed the father of a four-year-old boy, the child’s mother and sister permission to carry supplies and toys at the heliport. After their quarantine, they will be released in the custody of the father who is a UNHCR asylum seeker and applied for a ministerial permit. That family has since been registered with the UNHCR and their deportation stayed until the case is determined.

In the case involving another family – a mother and her three children who received orders on Sunday preventing their removal from T&T – the State has argued that nothing is stopping their deportations and their matter is expected to come up again later this week.

On Sunday, attorneys were told that the 26 Venezuelans who came in on Tuesday, were still at the facility and were not among the 160 deported on Saturday morning.

In a release sent by national security ministry on Saturday night, the deportation of 160 Venezuelans was announced. Since children are not "deported” it is not certain if the additional 20 accounted for by the Coast Guard were children.

The release reminded of the government’s “unprecedented humanitarian exercise” of a migrant registration exercise, in 2019, done out of concern for Venezuelans. The release said the result of this exercise was that 16,523 Venezuelans were registered and permitted to be legally in T&T.

The release also mentioned the court matter involving the 19, saying the minister learned about it in a media report that an application had been filed and the judge made certain orders for “some Venezuelans who are in Trinidad and Tobago illegally.

“While the Government acknowledges that there may be personal views surrounding the illegal entry into Trinidad and Tobago by persons, the Government, through the Ministry of National Security and other arms of the state, will continue to apply the laws and do all that it reasonably can to secure the borders and prevent illegal entry into Trinidad and Tobago. The measures being taken including the closure of our borders are to protect the health and safety of our citizens and those legally in Trinidad and Tobago,” the release said.

On Friday, immigration officials released 17 Venezuelan – 11 children and six adults, two of whom are in their 80s – from the state quarantine facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas and earlier this week, ten children and four mothers were also ordered released from the facility.

They were placed on orders of supervision but attorneys for the State could not say why they were released.

Earlier last week, Charles released ten children and four mothers pending the hearing and determination of their cases.

The Venezuelans, in their separate court actions, are seeking immediate relief, ordering the chief immigration officer to put them on orders of supervision as well as quashing any order of deportation pending their applications with the Living Water Community for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for asylum-seeker status.

They are also challenging the failure of the Minister of National Security to make a decision to quash their orders of deportation in keeping with the national policy for refugees and asylum-seekers affects them.

They also intend to ask for a declaration that the draft national policy to address refugees and asylum-seekers was illegal and irrational to the 1951 UN convention on the status of refugees and its 1967 protocols. They intend to argue that the failure to make a decision to quash an order of deportation against them was ultra vires Article 33 of the Refugee Convention 1951 which prohibits the refoulement of refugees and that the failure by the chief immigration officer to hold a special inquiry hearing was illegal.

Attorneys have asked for disclosure of any policy, written or unwritten, to address refugee/asylum matters in Trinidad and Tobago; any policy relating to the detention of those deemed vulnerable; and any declaration or notification by the Government that it has denounced the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees.

But, National Security Minister Stuart Young told the Parliament on Friday, there was a policy but he could not disclose it since it was subject to court action.

RELATED NEWS

Young's statements on Venezuelan migrants worry Law Association
JADA LOUTOO (T&T NEWSDAY).

File photo: Venezuelans including 16 children on board a pirogue that made its way to Los Iros beach  after a high court judge ordered the authorities to produce them following a deportation order. - Lincoln Holder
File photo: Venezuelans including 16 children on board a pirogue that made its way to Los Iros beach after a high court judge ordered the authorities to produce them following a deportation order. - Lincoln Holder
RECENT statements by National Security Minister Stuart Young on court proceedings involving illegal Venezuelan migrants have concerned the Law Association.

In a release on Monday, the association said it was concerned by aspects of the press conference at which the minister questioned the role played by lawyers in the court proceedings which seek to prevent the deportation of Venezuelan migrants.

The association said it was laso concerned by "his criticism of the court for not applying the law but 'the policy that it wants, ' and his lament about the 'upsurge in habeas corpus proceedings' the use of which he described as “very dangerous.'"

The association reminded that the courts were bound to uphold all the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and to hear and determine all applications brought before the court.

“For their part, attorneys-at-law are duty-bound to represent their clients fearlessly in order to ensure that the law is followed and the State is held to account.

“The pandemic poses a danger to all of us, but the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution to all who happen to be on our shores, including especially the rights of the child, the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law must not be disregarded even in these trying times,” the association said in its statement on Monday.

[asylumseeker]